Pestil, a Turkish word meaning dried fruit pulp, is best exemplified in the English term "fruit leather." Fruit leather is made from mechanically pulverizing fruit, then spreading it out to dry into a tough, yet flexible and edible material which can be kept preserved for several months in an airtight container. In

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

pestil is called ''pastel''. In

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

it is called . In some regions of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, including the southeastern city of

Urfa Urfa, officially known as Şanlıurfa () and in ancient times as Edessa, is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. Urfa is situated on a plain about 80 km east of the Euphrates River. Its climate features ex ...

, this fruit dessert is also called ''bastık''. A plum-based dessert from

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

is also called pestil. It's prepared by boiling plums with sugar and water and cooling the mixture in a solid layer. Bulgarian pestil is sometimes thicker than its Turkish counterpart and might be cut in small pieces instead of rolled up. Pestil might be made with different types of fruit beside plums. Apples, apricots, pears, peaches and melons are popular choices.

Etymology

According to Turkish etymological dictionary '' Nişanyan Sözlük,'' Turkish ''pestil'' and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

' are cognates and ''pastillo'' might have derived from Italian '. The dictionary asserts that the relationship between ''pestil'' and French ''

pastille A pastille is a type of sweet or medicinal pill made of a thick liquid that has been solidified and is meant to be consumed by light chewing and allowing it to dissolve in the mouth. The term is also used to describe certain forms of incense. ...

'' is ambiguous. The oldest written record of the Turkish word is dated back to 1501 dictionary '' Câmiü'l-Fürs.'' According to

Robert Dankoff Robert Dankoff is Professor Emeritus of Ottoman & Turkish Studies, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at University of Chicago Robert Dankoff was born on 24 September 1943 in Rochester, New York. In 1964, he received a Bachelor ...

, Turkish word derives from

''pasteł'' (, "" / "fruit leather") which in turn derives from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

(, "pastille").

References

External links

{{Turkish cuisine Turkish desserts Turkish words and phrases Armenian desserts Greek desserts Bulgarian desserts Fruit dishes

Etymology

See also

References

External links